Performing in Another Region
by MisterLooneyTune
Summary: Serena's Kalos journey has come to a close. But when one door closed, another one opens, or in Serena's case, when one journey ends, another one begins. Serena begins a new journey in the Hoenn region to compete in Pokémon contests as a coordinator. What kind of excitement, adventure, and new Pokémon awaits for Serena in Hoenn?
1. Landing a New Journey

Performing in Another Region

 _ **This fanfic takes place after the final episode of the XY series, "Till We Compete Again." Serena has now landed in Hoenn and begins her new journey as a coordinator**_.

Chapter 1: Landing A New Journey

"Can you two stop running in here?"

Her feet continues to cross over one another, almost stepping on top of each other. She would hate to see all this food ending up on the floor, but it doesn't help with these two always running around in circles. Especially in a tight space like this. And not to mention they both share the same height measurement to that of a Pichu. Focusing on the pan she's holding in her hand, the woman walks up to a large wooden table. She takes the spatula in her other hand, scoops up some scrambled eggs from inside the pan, then dumps them into an empty glass plate.

"Plusle, Minun, go upstairs and wake up Namaiki for me, please?" She got the two Pokémon to settle down and listen to what she has to say. "Of course, I tried to wake her up myself, but that daughter of mine sleeps like a Snorlax being called to battle." Plusle and Minun nod their little heads and take off full speed out of the kitchen. Plusle and Minun run out of the kitchen and across the living room before they make their way up the wooden staircase. Plusle meets Minun halfway up the steps and continues up the staircase. Once the duo has reached to the second floor, they run into a problem that separates them from Namaiki's room - her bedroom door.

Plusle and Minun examine the large wooden door in front of them, trying to figure out a way on how to get through it. They can't use the doorknob because, obviously, they can't reach for it. Even if one of them stands on top of the other. Breaking the lock off the door is clearly out of the question. Just as the duo is on the verge of defeat, suddenly, Plusle notices something. He pulls Minun closer to him so he could see too that the door is crack open. Plusle tries to fit its small body through the tiny opening, but gets stuck, so Minun pushes his plus partner from the back. By doing so, the small force became enough to open the door up some more and Plusle feel in the room. The minus Pokémon crawls through the opening and this time, Plusle pulls him in.

The room symbolizes that of an average teen girl's personality. Each of the lavender colored walls are covered with either mirrors, a frame of multicolor letters that spells out "Namaiki", or numerous posters of Hoenn champion Steven Stone. Portraits of family, friends, Pokémon, and ribbon cases filled with old contest ribbons are placed on top of a wooden dresser. Across the dresser is a large, soft bed, follow by a retro style chair hanging in between the bed and the window. The duo run across the brown carpet and jump on top of a table in front of the bed that resemble a pokeball. Plusle and Minun use the table as leavage to climb on top of the bed. Plusle and Minun climb on either side of a large figure with extremely long, pink hair and wrap inside the bedsheets. The duo shake the head of the figure a few times, trying to wake her up. But all they got in return is a loud moan.

Time for Plan B. If Namaiki didn't want to wake up, then Plusle and Minun will have to take matter into their own hands. They spin their arms around in a circle until little balls of sparks form around the tip of their paws. The troublesome duo quietly chuckle to themselves about their plan. Man, this is going to be funny...or at least for them. Minun pokes the girl's head with his left foot; this is Namaiki's last chance to wake up. But the sleeping girl tosses her body to the other side. She left the Pokémon with no other choice.

On the count of three... 1... 2... 3. Plusle and Minun drill their paws inside the comforter until they touch a certain body part whether its an arm or the neck. Whatever the case is, they finally got Namaiki to...wake up?

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

A flock of Taillow flew from inside the tree branches and towards the blue sky. Ground-type pokemon like Diglett and Dugtrio pop their heads from the dirt to figure out where the loud is coming from. Back in the kitchen, the mother sets a plate of Pokémon food in front of the small open window in front of the sink. This signals for a bug/flying type with multicolor wings to land on the edge of the window.

"Well good morning to you too, Beautifly," the woman says as the beautiful Pokémon starts eating it food.

"Beautifly," the but type Pokémon responds.

"Looks like everybody is finally awake."

Meanwhile, Back upstairs, Plusle and Minun are rolling over on the bed laughing their heads off after the stunt they pull. A pair of hands grab a fist load of the bedsheets as the female figure stands up on her two feet. Every strand of her pink hair is standing from the top of her head after being hit with a spark attack from the duo. "You guys," she growls like an angry Growlithe. "I told you over and over again not to wake me up like that." Plusle and Minun gave out this innocent smile and hug the girl like they didn't do anything wrong. But Namaiki is not having it.

"Namaiki, I hope you're out of that bed. Your breakfast is ready."

"I hope you would learn by now to stop using my own Pokémon as an alarm clock," the daughter fires back. She walks up to her window and opens it up, allowing the glamorous view of the morning sun rays enter the room. despite the rude awakening, it didnt change the fact that its a beautiful morning. The sun is shining beautifully over the neighborhood while the blue morning sky is fill with flying type Pokémon. Namaiki stretches her arms out, twisting them around from one side of her body to the next. ,meanwhile, her two troublesome partners climb on either one of her shoulders as a small gust of wind blows some of her hair in front of her face.

"Today is going to be interesting," Namaiki states.

* * *

"Welcome to Mauville City," a man over an intercom announces to a group of passengers walking inside the airport. "We hope you all had a safe flight and have a wonderful time here in the Hoenn region."

Passengers who had deported from their flights walk inside the airport. A handful of people walk up to the front desk for directions or other assistance. Many went up to friends and family that were waiting for them. Some walk straight into the bathroom to handle their business, while others are either about to get on a plane or still sitting waiting for their flight. For one individual, she is making a call back home to a family member. She has on a bright pink dress with a white collar underneath a red waistcoat and short honey haired hair. The female has on dark grey stockings, brown boots, and a reddish-pink fedora over her head. The young girl is also wearing a blue ribbon on her chest while carrying a pink bag over her back for accessories.

"So I see you landed in Hoenn," a woman says to the female trainer on the another line. "How was your flight? Are you liking Hoenn so far?"

"Geez, mom. One question at a time," the daughter jokes. "The flight was amazing and I am loving Hoenn so far." During the conversation, the young trainer's Pokémon are out of their poke balls. Standing upright on two legs, one Pokémon has bright yellow fur and a big, bushy tail that storages a branch with a red bow tied. On the girl's left side, this Pokémon is like a quadruple mammalian like with a slender body that is covered by mostly a white-cream colored fur. It has large blue eyes and four vulpine-like legs that are called ribbons in the pokedex. One of them is currently wrap around its trainer's left arm. And finally, the last Pokémon has black and white fur to represent a panda. It has a green leaf sticking out of it's mouth and wearing a pair of red sunglasses.

"Where are you exactly?"

"Mauville City. I was looking it up on the plane. Its got big buildings, boutique stores with the cutest clothes and the city is close to a beach. Mauville City is like every tourist's dream."

The mother chuckles at her daughter's excitement. "Sounds like Lumiose City," she responds with her eyes close with a bright smile on her face. But the smile slowly fades away. Serena looks at her mother and her smile disappears as well as her current facial expression is replace with a look of concern. "Hey, Mom," Serena calls out. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, its nothing," Serena's mother replies. "Anyway, have you find out any information about pokemon contests?"

"Not yet, but I'm heading to the Pokémon Center once I leave the airport. Perhaps Nurse Joy knows something."

"Okay. Braixen, Pancham, Syvleon, watch over my daughter for me." All three of the Pokémon nod their heads in understanding at the mother.

"Braixen."

"Pancham."

"Sylveon."

"Good luck, dear," Serena's mother says. "And remember to always be one with your Pokémon."

"Bye, Mom." After ending her conversation with her mother, Serena returns her team in their pokeballs. After which, she walks out of the airport, scanning her surroundings that is Mauville City. It's a even a lot bigger in person than it was on the plane. A small gust of wind blow some of her hair in her face, but the honey haired girl pushes it away using her left hand. Its the start of a new beginning for Serena. But first, its off to the Pokémon center.

* * *

Namaiki spins around in front of her mirror. After brushing her pink hair, she takes a good look at herself in the mirror as she tosses some kind of black fabric in the trash can. "So what do you think?" She asks Plusle and Minun. "I look good, don't I?" Plusle and Minun didn't respond to their trainer. This is the fifth outfit Namaiki tried on this morning and they're ready to start their journey already. Minun playfully shoves Plusle until the latter falls off the bed. This prompt the latter to jump back on the bed, only to tackle the former after hearing him laughing. "Never mind" Namaiki grunts. There is a knock on her door. "Come in."

Namaiki's bedroom door opens and a middle age woman with brown hair and blue eyes steps inside. She is wearing purple sweatpants and a light reddish pink t-shirt. "I see you're wearing the outfit I bought," she responds after seeing Namaiki in her outfit. "But what happen to most of it?"

"I just cut the sleeves off and the hem." Namaiki turns herself around before placing her right hand in her hair and her left hand on her left waist. She winks at her mother while standing on her right foot. "Looks good this way, huh?"

"Please don't mention this to your father. Anyway, Cameron called. He mentioned something about Littleroot Town?"

"Yeah. I texted him earlier and said I'll meet up with him at Professor Birch's research lab."

"I see."

"Okay, you two," the female trainer says to Plusle and Minun. "Enough with the rough housing. Its time to get out of here and start our journey." Plusle and Minun climb on either one of Namaiki's shoulders then she bolts out of her room and down the stairs. Of course her mother is happy for her daughter, but does Namaiki have to rush things? She just ate breakfast two hours ago and already heading out the door. Not to mention just coming back from finishing up a previous journey a week ago. Namaiki can wait a few more hours to settle down at least. Or maybe this is the mother's way off holding on to her daughter more. But she just have to accept the fact her little girl is growing up, whether she likes it or not. The mother scatters the room and finds a one strap bookbag that is as pink as Namaiki's hair with a black pokeball design on the front.

Namaiki walks through the front door and steps outside of her house. She would have kept going too until she hears her mother screaming her name.

"Namaiki, wait," her mother yells while running down the stairs. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

The daughter scans her mother's hands and see the pink bookbag. "My bookbag," she proclaims, grabbing the bag and throws it over her head. The bag slips all the way down before reaching her back. "Thanks, Mom. I totally forgot all about this."

"And you thought you could leave without saying goodbye?" Namaiki giggles then surprises her mother with a hug. Its the least she can do for the one person who supports her dreams.

"I love you, Mom," Namaiki comments.

"I love you too, dear. Please be careful and call back once you made it in Littleroot Town."

"I will."

"Plusle and Minun, watch over my daughter for me and keep her out of trouble." The duo nod their heads in understanding, although Namaiki just looks away. Its more like _she_ has to watch over _them_ knowing how troublesome these two can be. Before she leaves, a Beautifly lands on top of her head.

"Oh, don't worry, Beauti," Namaiki says to the beautiful Pokémon. "I haven't forgotten about you. Take care of my Mom for me while I'm gone, okay?

"Beautifly," the Beautifly agrees.

"Well, I guess I'll be going now. See you later, Mom."

"Bye, sweetie," the mother replies as she watches her daughter run off. Well there she goes, off with Plusle and Minun to start a new beginning. But first, Namaiki is going to get Plusle and Minun check at by Nurse Joy. Her house is only ten minutes away from downtown Mauville City. So getting to the Pokémon Center won't take that long walking...or running in Namaiki's case. "Call me once you arrive in Littleroot Town," she screams. "I want to know you made it there safe and sound."

"I will."

* * *

"Where am I?" Serena aires out with a soft tone in her voice. Serena turns her head to the right and sees a blue building with seven stories. She could have swore she pass by this building already for the fifth time. No, she has. What gave it away is because this exact building is close to a food court. Even if its down the street, Serena could still smell the aroma that fills every inch of the block. Its official...Serena is lost.

"Oh no," she says. Everywhere Serena turns her head, there's a building right beside her. Each building almost taller than the other. Talk about a bad way to start off her Hoenn journey. On the other side of the street, a man all dressed up with a suitcase in hand walking down on a sidewalk. He appears to be someone who knows his way around Mauville City. Maybe even the entire region.

"Excuse me, sir," Serena calls out to the man.

"Can I help you with some thing, young lady?" The well dressed stranger responds.

"By any chance do you know where the Pokémon Center is?"

"Why yes. As a matter of fact, I do. And all you have to do is turn to your left." On her left there is yet another tall building. However, compare to the others, the entry of the yellow building resembles a pokeball with a large moniter mounted with the words "Pokémon Center" flashing in the screen in neon green lights. But what Serena doesn't get is that she has been walking around in circles this whole time and now she just seeing this? Whatever. Serena can think about this later. All the honey haired trainer cares about is that she finally found the Pokémon center.

"Thanks so much," Serena says to the stranger.

"No problem."

The man walks away and Serena heads straight to the Pokémon Center, but before she storms inside...

"OUFF!"

Serena finds herself on the ground after an unseen person comes running out of the Pokémon Center. When the Kalos native comes to, she finds a female with long, curly pink hair standing above her. She is dress in a short, black sleeveless top that's only long enough to cover her chest. Her top is follow by blue denim jeans that are being held together by a white belt with a yellow buckle follow by a pair of yellow boots. And for accessories, this girl is wearing blue earrings and has a yellow bracelet on her left arm. Or maybe its a watch. It all happen so fast Serena didn't see straight. "Oh my goodness," she says. "I'm terribly sorry. I wasn't paying attention. Are you alright?" The pink headed girl asks, offering Serena a hand.

"I'm fine," Serena responds, taking the girl's hand. "Just surprise...and shaking."

"I'm sorry. I got Plusle and Minun checked from Nurse Joy and now we're heading to another town." A Plusle and Minun? So that's the names of the two Pokémon on the girl's shoulders. They almost reminds Serena of a Pichu.

"They're so cute," Serena proclaims. Plusle and Minun scratch the top of their heads out of embarrassment.

"By the way, I'm Namaiki," Namaiki introduces her.

"I'm Serena." Suddenly, Plusle and Minun jump off their trainer's shoulders and onto the ground. Namaiki wonders whats wrong with them until she sees them gathering five poke balls. The two trainers are curious to know who would leave their poke balls out, but then the girls put two and two together and realize its their poke balls. Serena bends down and grabs her three, then Namaiki grabs her two - Plusle and Minun's poke balls.

"What a relief," Serena exclaims. "Thank you, Plusle and Minun." The duo jumps back on their trainer's shoulders and says that the honey haired trainer she is welcome.

"Well I better get going. Sorry again for running into you."

"No worries. How about Next time, try not to be such a hurry."

"How about next time, try not to get run over," Namaiki jokes and runs away. Talk about a weird girl. Now that Serena's Poke balls are safe in her hands, she walks inside the Pokémon Center.

* * *

"Thanks so much, Nurse Joy."

"Its no problem at all. You can assure all your Pokémon are in excellent hands."

"Chansey," the fairy type affirms. As Nurse Joy and Chancey walks to the back with her poke balls, Serena looks around the center to figure out what to do now. It'll be a while until all her Pokémon will be finish with their check ups. She sees another set of phones over in the corner. Perhaps there's someone else she can to other than a relative. Actually, there is one person Serena wants to check up on since she haven't talk to this person since flying to Hoenn.

The face of another young female appears in a multicolor screen. This girl is also a trainer just like Serena and Namaiki, and she also happens to a great friend of the former. "Serena," the girl answers. This female trainer has dark skin, long brown hair that are tied into two pigtails, and a smile so side anyone can see it from behind. "Its so good to hear from you."

"Hi, Shauna. Nice to hear from you too," Serena replies.

"So how's the Hoenn region?"

"Huh? How do you know I was in Hoenn?"

"Bonnie called me earlier and told me about your big Hoenn journey." Hearing That Bonnie told Shauna about Hoenn didn't came much of a shock to Serena. Its not that Serena meant to kept it a secret or anything. "Why didn't you tell me?" Shauna asks, with a pout on her face.

"I didn't know how to reach you and you're helping Professor Sycamore."

"You still should have try, but I forgive you."

"Speaking of Professor Sycamore, how are things going with you?" Serena asks her best friend.

"Great. Me, Tierno, and Trevor found a bunch of wild Pokémon. One of which decided it wants to travel with me."

"You caught a new Pokémon?"

"Yeah."

"That's great. I guessing you have a lot of ideas for showcase performances."

"You already know," Shauna affirmates. "So don't think your little journey in Hoenn will make it easy for me, Serena."

"Easy for what?"

"Easy for me being Kalos Queen, of course."

Serena laughs. "Oh, don't worry. I'll be back real soon and I'll be Kalos Queen, no doubt."

"Bring it on." Of course, Serena and Shauna are friends first, but at the end if the day, they are still rivals. Rivals who are on different journeys for a similar goal. And the only way to achieve that goal, they must compete against one another. Nonetheless to say, they still support each other and will always have one another's back. "But enough of all that. Speaking of Bonnie, she told me something else happen before you got on your flight. Care to do explain?" Shauna finishes her question with a wink and a cheeky smile.

"AHH!" Serena's face changes into a crimson color. Her eyes shot wide open and her pupils are gone. "W-W-What are you talking about?" The honey haired trainer asks as if she has no idea what her friend is talking about. But Shauna didn't even need an answer. Serena's red, puzzled face is all she needs to answer her question.

"SHAUNA!"

Shauna turns her head to an unseen person. "What's going on, you guys?" As the performer waits for an answer, she ducks her head, avoiding a sudden hidden power attack just by a few millimeters.

"Is everything alright over there?" Serena asks in concern.

"I gotta go. Tierno and Trevor seem to be in trouble."

"Okay. See you." And with that, the connection is gone. Looks like Shauna is working really hard on her dream. And now its time for Serena to do the same. As soon as Nurse Joy comes out with her Pokémon, it will be the perfect chance to find out more information about Pokémon contests and where will the first one will take place.

"Serena?" Nurse Joy calls out, walking in the lobby along with Chansey. Talk about perfect timing. "I'm happy to say both of your Pokémon are in excellent health."

"Both?"

"Yeah. Your Braixen and Sylveon. I can tell they have been raised very well."

"Nurse Joy, I have three Pokémon. Braixen, Sylveon, and a Pancham. Where's Pancham?"

"I'm sorry, but Braixen and Sylveon are the only Pokémon I examined," Nurse Joy protests. "Though I wonder about this empty poke ball you gave me." Empty poke ball? Grabbing the three poke balls on the tray, Serena releases her Pokémon. There is Braixen and Sylveon, but where is Pancham? Scanning the poke ball, Serena realizes something. "This isn't Pancham's poke ball," she announces. "But how could..." Suddenly, Serena remembers that incident with the Namaiki girl. After colliding with one another, Plusle and Minun must have gotten a few poke balls switched up without realizing it. So this empty poke ball must be one of the two tiny electric Pokémon and Namaiki must have Pancham. "Namaiki."

"Hmm?"

"Namaiki. I ran into her...well, she ran into me...and all five of our poke balls got mixed up. I got to go find her."

"Namaiki was here. She said she was heading to Littleroot Town after she picked up both of her Pokémon."

"Plusle and Minun. Wait, Littleroot Town?"

"Yeah, but she has to pass Oldale Town first." This is not good. For all Serena knows, Namaiki could have left Mauville City by now. But whatever the case maybe, she has to find her and get Pancham back. She can't just sit around and hope that she realizes Pancham.

"Nurse Joy, what's the quickest route to Oldale Town?" Serena asks.

* * *

 _ **Just like I promise, "Performing in Another Region" is now available on fanfiction. Sorry if it doesn't sound good. I'm still stuck with writing my fanfics on my Amazon tablet, not to mention my personal life is a mess right now and its affecting my creative craft. My phone is still off, so I have no way of communicating with everyone else on Twitter or work on any of my other fanfics on Wattpad and my folks are struggling financially. But writing calms me down, so I wanna thank all my readers for sticking with me and having my back all this time. I'll be back with the second chapter, but for now, what will happen at that time? Has Namaiki figure out about Pancham yet? Will Serena find Namaiki before she skips town? And what other surprises Hoenn has in store for our favorite trainer? "Performing in Another Region" is in full swing. Stay tuned.**_

 _ **-MisterLooneyTune**_


	2. To Hunt and To Hold

Performing in Another Region

Chapter 2: To Hunt and To Hold

Look at all those berries. Just the sight of them all made Plusle and Minun's mouths water. The duo haven't eaten anything since this morning, so they are in need for something in their little stomachs. But with a variety selection of berries to choose from, they don't know which one to pick. And their empty tummies continuously grumbling is not making the situation much easy. Plusle taps Minun and spots a nice looking sitrus berry. It does look promising, but any berry would do at this point. As long as it means food for his stomach. The moment Minun nods his head, Plusle uses spark to zap the sitrus berry off the branch. He uses spark three more times until three sitrus berries are on the ground. Of course, they haven't forgot about their long, pink haired trainer, who is currently talking to somebody on the phone.

"Just be sure I see your butt at Professor Birch's research lab by the time I arrive in Littleroot Town, Cameron." Namaiki says on the line. After the young girl hangs up, she sees Plusle and Minun rolling three sitrus berries at her direction. Namaiki wonders how they can roll three berries all at once.

"Are those for me, or just one?" Namaiki asks. Plusle rolls one of the sitrus berries towards Namaiki. "Thanks, you guys. That's really sweet."

The duo stand tall and gave their trainer the salute sign, which earns them a giggle from Namaiki. She takes out a handkerchief and uses it to wipe off any residue on the berry. As rambunctious and a handful Plusle and Minun can be at times, Namaiki is really grateful for to have such loyal partners by her side. The three of them have been to so much together, traveling from region to region, meeting all types of new Pokémon, and making precious memories. No matter what happens or what will happen, they will always be a team. And they are on the road on a new journey with new memories to make. There's no telling what kind of events and exciting moments await for the trio.

"Mmmm," Namaiki voices out while eating the sitrus berry. "So sweet, so delicious. Route 110 definitely grow the best berries." Plusle and Minun agree with the pink headed trainer; the latter pops the final piece of berry in his mouth. "You must be really hungry, Minun. Was the berry good?"

The blue Pokémon nods his little head.

"How about we pick some berries out and take them to Littleroot Town with us?" Minun runs to the back of the berry tree. Taking what Namaiki told him, the electric type tries to actually push the tree. He wants to give Namaiki some berries, but it seems as if the tree isn't moving not even an inch. Maybe Minun isn't pushing hard enough. He spits in his paws, rubs them together, and tries pushing the tree again. Minun pushes with all his little might, you can the veins in his muscles pop out of his skin. The only progress Minun has made so far is that he's sweating more than the previous attempt.

Namaiki and Plusle chuckle at Minun. Does Minun really think a small Pokémon his size could push a tall tree?

"Perhaps you should help Minun out, Plusle?" Namaiki suggests.

Plusle runs to the back of the tree. He places a paw on his Minun's shoulder, signaling the latter to stop from straining himself even further. He takes him in front of the tree and tells him to watch. Then, Plusle uses static like before, but this time, more than two dozen berries end up landing on the grass from sitrus berries, oran berries, nanab berries, razz berries, and bluk berries. Zapping the berries makes things a whole lot easier than trying to push a tree that probably weights more than a wild Ursaring. Plusle doesn't understand why Minun didn't think of using his static. They are both electric types after all.

"Nice work, Plusle." Namaiki takes out a plastic bag, then proceeds by picking one berry at a time and, tosses tosses them in the bag. As the female reaches over for an oran berry, it suddenly starts moving on its own. Must be the work of some wild ground type Pokémon nearby. The rest of the berries on the ground all starts to shake. At first, Namaiki believes it to be the works of some wild Pokémon. Suddenly, the female trainer and her Pokémon duo, Plusle, and Minun can feel vibrations coming from the ground just by standing up.

"What's going on?" She asks as the shaking increases, follow by two pairs of sirens blazing through the morning skies. Namaiki stumbles backwards until her right foot catches a root. She falls down on the ground, unaware that a Pokémon suddenly pops out from its poke ball. Right beside the female trainer is a black and white Panda-like Pokémon wearing a pair of red sunglasses on its head. Regardless, more attention is on the continuous rumbling noises and the blazing sirens.

A grey four-wheel truck appears on everybody's right side as it speeds down the route. The wheels on the truck explains where the sudden rumbling came from. Those wheels are so huge you can find the similarities between them and the wheels usually found on semis. As for the blazing sirens, they are coming from a police car and a motorcycle that are chasing after the truck. Both the squad car and the bike are also flashing blue lights. Officer Jenny can be seen driving the bike while her Arcanine is sitting comfortably in the side car. Looks like the driver in the truck is a wanted fugitive and obviously on the run. The trio or vehicles also appears to be heading for Mauville City.

Now aftee that little distraction is over and done with, Namaiki can focus on the black and white Pokémon beside her. "Where did you came from?" She asks.

"Pancham Pancham cham." Pancham stares at the pink headed girl as he wants to ask the same thing to her. But more importantly, where's Serena? And how did he get separated from her in the first place?

Namaiki examines the poke ball the panda like Pokémon came out. It does look a whole lot different than the two other poke balls in her possession. "Wait a minute," Namaiki yells. "This is Minun's poke ball. They must gotten switch somehow, but how did...unless...the girl with the short hair."

"Cham?"

"The girl with the short hair. Is she your trainer?"

"Pancham pan," Pancham confirms.

Its all starting to come back to Namaiki. She remembers back in Mauville City how she bumped into the honey haired girl. Plusle and Minun did noticed their poke balls scattered all over the floor. As they were collecting the poke balls, the duo must have gotten some of them mixed up. So to sum up this situation, Namaiki has the girl's Pokémon and this Serena chick must has Minun's poke ball.

"Mauville City will have to wait," Namaiki says out loud so the three Pokémon could hear her. "Let's take you back to your trainer and Minun's poke ball back."

"Pancham!"

* * *

"Pancham! Where are you?"

After hours of searching, Serena finally sit down on a nearby bench. She didn't have much luck with find Pancham or the girl with the long pink hair. But she does have Braixen and Sylveon still out searching for their team member. Hopefully they will return with better results. Meanwhile, Serena decides to take advantage of this opportunity and rest. This will give her a good chance to gather her thoughts together and figure out her next move. The moment Serena takes a seat, Braixen and Sylveon came out of nowhere and stand beside their trainer, but Pancham with not in sight. This is not a good sign.

"Braixen, did you happen to find Pancham?" Serena asks the fox Pokémon.

"Braixen Brax," Braixen answers, shaking her head in denial.

"What about you, Sylveon?"

The fairy type shakes her head. "Sylveon."

This search mission is not going anywhere. The trio is hoping to find Namaiki still in Mauville City and will eventually run into her again, but it appears they bit off more than they could chew. After hours of searching the highs and lows of this city, even going back to the Pokémon Center to see did the Namaiki girl find out about Pancham and went back there, but Nurse Joy said she haven't came back. Serena and her Pokémon have reach a dead end. of course They're not giving up on Pancham, but they need to rest and get their thoughts in order. They could try again and look around the city, but Serena fears that won't change anything.

How she wishes her friend, Clemont, is here. This would usually be the time for him to whip out an invention for this kind of situation. It may blow up anyway, but still its better than trying to figure out the next step. Maybe Serena did rush her Hoenn journey way too soon. After all, she did finished a previous journey just a few hours ago.

"Sylveon Syl Syl," Sylveon says, wrapping a ribbon around Serena's right arm and brushes her head on her right leg.

"Braixen Braixen Braixen Braix."

Seeing the smiles on Sylveon and Braixen's face is enough to convince Serena that they will be alright. Even though Pancham is nowhere to be found, this is not the time for the female performer to have her head down. Besides, knowing how attach Pancham is to this team, there's no doubt in Serena's mind that he's probably looking for them right now. Earlier at the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy did mentioned Namaiki is heading for Littleroot Town. So if that's where she's going with her Pokémon, then so Littleroot Town is where Serena is going too.

The trainer catches her Pokémon by surprise and stands tall over Braixen and Sylveon. She fires a smile back at the duo. "Let's go find Pancham and this time, we will find him."

"BRAIXEN!"

"SYLVEON!"

"Excuse me?" The trio sees Officer Jenny with an canine-like Pokémon with orange and black fur standing in front of them. Serena couldn't help but point out how this Officer Jenny is a lot different from the ones back in Kalos. For starters, the Kenny in Kalos wear a blue cap with a rimb, a white collared shirt with a tie and long blue vest, a blue-gray skirt, brown leggings, and navy boots with matching gloves. This Officer Jenny has on a purple cap with a black rim, red top, and a gold star. Her collared shirt is purple with red trim, a sky blue chest piece, and gold shoulder pads. Her uniform is follow by a purple skirt, black shoes, and white gloves. Another thing is that the Jennys in Kalos have a Manectric, an electric-type, as their partner in fighting crime, while this Jenny has a fire-type as her partner.

"Officer Jenny," Serena calls out. "Can I help you with something?"

"We're wondering have you seen a grey truck speeding by recently?"

"A grey truck? I'm sorry, Officer Jenny, but I haven't."

"That's okay," Nurse Joy responds. "But I want to inform you if that truck does happens to speed by, be very cautious."

"How come?"

"A Pokémon ranger and I are in the middle of a pursuit of capturing a escape inmate."

"An escape inmate?"

"Mm-Hmm," Officer Jenny nods, then hands a folded sheet of paper to the short haired girl. Serena unfolds it and examines the individual on what appears to be a mugshot. The photographic portrait features a man with tan skin and a low cut beard. The man does look a bad guy. His facial expression is very hostile with his face sticking out and chin standing forward as he shoots a scowl at the camera. But the scariest part about this guy is the huge scar taking up the right side of his face. The scar starts from the top of his forehead, running through his right eye, and stopping in the middle of his cheek. How can somebody escape and avoid custody without getting identified with a scar that large taking over your face?

Serena looks up and sees a name on top of the mugshot. "Dennis."

"That's right," Nurse Joy responds. "He's a Pokémon hunter who's part of a dangerous gang that steals Pokémon, then sells them at a market for profit. He was apprehended, but escape custody a week ago. Someone spotted him in the grey truck and we were engaged in a high speed chase. But somehow, he lost us the moment we arrived in Mauville City."

"That's terrible," Serena vocalizes. She encountered Pokémon hunters before from her pass journey and neither one of them were pretty. Just the thought of hunting, stealing, and selling Pokémon for money? Disgusting. "But no. I haven't seen a grey truck anywhere."

"Well just be careful while walking with your Pokémon. Even while hiding, Dennis will still try and steal Pokémon that he feels will make him a lot of money and he's extremely dangerous. So be very cautious."

"We will."

* * *

"Finally," Dennis scuffs under his breath. "Thought I never lose them." The Pokémon hunter steps out of his truck while he carries a brown jacket in his hand. He may have gotten rid of Officer Jenny and the Pokémon ranger, but its only temporarily. They're going to be scattering all over Mauville City searching for him. So the best way to avoid attention to himself is to lay low.

"If I'm gonna be hiding here, then I better let headquarters know," Dennis says to himself as he reaches in his pocket and pulls out some kind of device that resembles a walkie talkie. "Dennis to base," the hunter radios on the device. "I have officially made it in Mauville City, but I have Officer Jenny and that annoying Pokémon ranger on my tale. So I'm gonna be laying low for a while until things calm down."

Dennis walks out of the alley and places the fedora hat on his head. He hopes it would be enough to keep the massive scar thats taking over the right side of his face out of plain sight.

Looking around the city, thousands of residents are walking the streets with various Pokémon by their side. Across the street where Dennis is standing, a Ludicolo walks next to a young male with a carpet colored hair carrying what appears to be groceries. A young lady with green pigtails is carrying a Vigoroth like a bookbag. Two Mightyenas are sleeping next to one another underneath a couple at the food court. And these are just examples of the many Pokémon around Dennis. Perhaps getting stuck in Mauville City is not as bad as he thought.

"But while I'm in Mauville City...," he says over on the device. "...this will give me chance to capture some new Pokémon." Of course, Dennis didn't forget he has to keep things on the low. Still, he's not going to let Officer Jenny or some wannabe Pokémon ranger get in his way of a good payday.

* * *

The double doors slide open and Namaiki runs inside the Pokémon Center with Plusle, Minun, and Pancham at her side. This was the last place she saw that Serena chick. She examines the entire interior of the Pokémon Center and there's no sight of anyone with short, honey hair or with a red fedora hat on. Namaiki hopes she's not too late. Behind the counter is Nurse Joy and Chansey who is currently assisting a male trainer. A brown box is sitting on the counter right beside Nurse Joy.

"Thank you for the taking care of my Treecko, Nurse Joy," the male trainer says.

"Its not a problem at all," Nurse Joy replies. "Have fun on your first Pokémon journey."

Namaiki runs pass the trainer and straight to the front of the counter. "Nurse Joy," she calls out.

"Namaiki. Back so soon?"

"I didn't have a choice. I'm looking for Serena."

"Serena?"

"Yeah. Short hair, wearing a fedora and red waistcoat. There was a mix up with our poke balls. She has Minun's poke ball and I ended up having her Pokémon by mistake."

That explains the empty poke ball situation. Nurse Joy thought it was strange for a trainer to hand her a poke ball that has no Pokémon inside. Now it all makes sense to her. Unfortunately, Namaiki came back at the wrong time. "Is she still here?" She asks.

"Pancham?"

"I'm afraid you came back too late. Serena discovered the mix up too and went out looking for you. After I told her you was heading to Littleroot Town, she ran out of here to catch up to you."

"Are you kidding me?" Well this is just great. For all Namaiki know, Serena could be heading to Littleroot Town. Namaiki reaches her end point with this whole search mission. Now where does she go from here?

"Pancham."

"Hey," Namaiki calls out to the panda Pokémon. "We're gonna find your trainer. I promise." That didn't make Pancham feel any better. "Nurse Joy, how long was it since Serena left?"

"About Half an hour."

A half an hour ago. That's not bad. So its a good chance Serena could still be in the city. But just to be on the safe side if Serena comes back. "Thanks, Nurse Joy. If Serena does come back, tell her to stay here and Namaiki will be back with her Pancham."

"Okay."

Namaiki runs out the Pokémon Center with Plusle, Minun, and Pancham...again...to find Serena...again. They sprint past a man with a black fedora hiding his face. Namaiki notices and takes note on some kind of a marking on the right side of his face. She couldn't detail his face because of his fedora, but the mark looks familiar.

 _Is that a scar on his face?_ the female trainer asks herself. _Or some kind of birthmark? Oh well. Its not on my face and that's all that matters._

The stranger rotates his head to the three Pokémon beside the girl. A Plusle, Minun, and...wait, what's the third Pokémon? He have never seen a Pokémon like this before in his life. Especially one that wears a pair of sunglasses. This could be a good experience for him. Despite his current situation and trying to stay unrecognizable from the public, he has a job to do. Not to mention, cash and food supply is running dangerously low. This could be a big break for him. A smirk creeps up on the individual's marked face. The male turns his entire body around and goes after Namaiki and the Pokémon, reaching in his pocket while walking.

* * *

Its been ten minutes since Namaiki left the Pokémon Center. Continuing their quest to find Serena, the small search party stops at a park. And once again, they don't see Serena anywhere. Matter of fact, they don't see anyone at the park. Which is strange for Namaiki because this is the exact park she takes Plusle and Minun to every other weekend and she never seen it deserted before. So she wonders what would make such a public environment completely abandon.

But this is not the time to worry about that. Namaiki still has some unresolved business to take care of first. "Here's what I'm thinking," the female says to the trio of Pokémon. "Let's look around one more time for the twenty more minutes. After that, we'll go back to the Pokémon Center and see if the girl return."

Plusle and Minun nod in agreement and so did Pancham.

"Cham."

Suddenly, a pin missile comes out of nowhere and attacks the group, just missing the front of them just by a few inches. Everyone starts coughing due to the thick smoke in their lungs. In the mix of this, a silver hand grabs a hold of Pancham while he's unable to see. Nevertheless, Pancham doesn't need to see to figure out something is grabbing him.

"Cham?"

Once the hand captures its target, Pancham is pulled out of the smoke and away from Namaiki, Plusle, and Minun.

"PAAAANNNCHAAAMM! **"**

The thick black cloud slowly starts to fade away.

"What's going on?" Namaiki asks. Once the smoke completely disappears, the female trainer can finally open her eyes and the first thing she sees is a captured Pancham in some kind of clear sphere cage behind hold by a bearded man with a hideous scar on the right side of his face. He has a Rhydon standing on his right and a Beedrill flying on his left side. "Who are you? And what are you doing?"

Namaiki doesn't know whats going on, but she's two seconds away from snatching that smirk off his face and turn it upside down.

"You sure asked a lot of questions for a runt," the guy responds. "But to answer your questions, The name's Dennis, sweetie. And what you need to know is that this Pokémon, whatever it is, belongs to me now."

"PANCHAM PANCHAM CHAM!"

"You're not going anywhere with Pancham," Namaiki fires. "I'm taking him back to his trainer right now. Plusle? Minun?" The electric duo run in front of their trainer and get themselves ready to battle. They stand on all fours as electricity sparks out of their cheeks. The cheering Pokémon maybe a handful at times, but they can put up a good fight when it comes to battles.

"Is that right?" Dennis chuckles until his smirk disappears. This little girl doesn't know who she's dealing with. A Pokémon battle is the perfect way to educate her. "Then if that's the case, Beedrill, pin missile."

The stinger of the poison bee Pokémon shoots out from its tail and changes to a dark greenish color, aiming directly at the pair of cheerful Pokémon. So that's where the previous pin missile came from.

"Use spark," Namaiki commands Plusle and Minun. her electric partners leap into the air, avoiding the pin missile, then proceeds to commence their spark attack. Yellowish gold electricity covers Plusle's body while light blue electricity covers Minun's body as they charge towards the poison bee Pokémon. But why is Dennis just standing there? Isn't he going to give a command?

Rhydon springs in front of the Beedrill instantly and absorbs the spark attack. But the attack doesn't even appears to affect it. Not even one bit. Instead, Rhydon puffs its chest out and launches Plusle and Minun back over to Namaiki.

"Rhydon doesn't even look affective," Namaiki comments. Meanwhile, Dennis is enjoying every second of this battle despite not making a move. He laughs at the girl's questioned expression. "Whats so funny?" Namaiki fires.

"Stupid girl," the hunter responds cold heartedly. "Rhydon is a ground and rock type. And everyone knows electricity doesn't have any affect on them. Rhydon, earthquake."

Rhydon springs back in the air, but this time lands back on the ground with a loud thud. The drill Pokémon sends out white shockwaves that causes the entire surface to shake and break apart. The attack even sends some of the ground pieces at the electric duo. By distracting Plusle and Minun from paying attention on the battle, Dennis sees this as the perfect opportunity to attack.

"Hang in there, you two," Namaiki courages her partners.

"Pin missile," Dennis commands his Beedrill, in which the bug Pokémon flies above Plusle and Minun, then releases another pin missile from its tail and aims it at the duo. And this time, the pin missile makes a direct attack.

"Plusle! Minun! No!"

"PANCHAM PAN!" Pancham screams, couraging his new friends to keep battling. But its easier than done. That pin missile did incredible damage despite Plusle and Minun having the type advantage over Beedrill. Namaiki runs up to Plusle and Minun and carries them in her arms.

"Hang in there, you two. I know you guys are hurting, but just remember I have faith in both of you." Plusle and Minun can hear their trainer's words of encouragement. And despite both of them being in a weaken state, they are not about to give up without a fight. But for Dennis, the word pathetic can't even describe this girl. The little brat really doesn't believe she can beat him. I mean, really. Both his Pokémon have the height advantage and they are strong. There is no way those two tiny Pokémon can defeat them in a battle.

"You see what happens when little kids want to act grown?" Dennis screams at the pink headed trainer. "And I was just going easy on you. So do you really want to continue this battle? Perhaps save your puny Pokémon from further damage?"

Namaiki is not going to let this man get away. Her Pokémon are much stronger than he believes. Plusle and Minun maybe down, but they are not out. This battle is just getting started and its about time to show this coward just how strong they really are. "We're not giving up," she replies. "My Pokémon are much stronger than you think because we have each other. And as long as they don't give up, as long as Plusle and Minun keeps fighting, we can handle anything cowards like you throw at us."

Plusle and Minun jump out of Namaiki's arms and land feet first on the ground. The both of them are still determine to defeat Dennis and rescue Pancham. Nonetheless, Dennis just shakes his head and sucks his tongue of disbelief. Well, he tried to play nice. "Still wanna be grown," he comments. "Okay. Toxic spikes."

Beedrill swoops in the air and releases a dangerous layer of purple poisonous spikes out of its mouth. As the spikes aim for Plusle and Minun, Namaiki tries to think of a way to get them out of this situation. If they get hit by those toxic spikes, we're not only talking major damage, but also the two getting heavily poison. But the poison move is moving too fast to dodge now. Looks like its over for them. The toxic spikes make direct contact, then smoke fills the air. When the smoke clears up, not only is Plusle and Minun still standing, the both of them are behind some greenish blue shield. But who's that Pokémon with white and pink fur beside Plusle and Minun?

"PANCHAM!" someone screams. Namaiki turns her head and sees a female trainer wearing a reddish-pink fedora over her short honey hair and a red waistcoat running towards her along with another Pokémon by her side. Just the person Namaiki has been spending countless hours looking for.

"Serena!" The pink head cries out.

"Pancham Pancham Pan!"

"Braixen, use fire blast on Beedrill," Serena commands.

"Braixen." The fire type leaps over the protect move and reaches for her branch. "BRAAAIXXENNN!" The fox Pokémon releases a flamethrower from the tip of her branch and aims it at the poison bee Pokémon. However, as the flamethrower met the Beedrill halfway, it opens into five separate directions, forming some kind of star-like symbol. The fire blast move closes on the Beedrill, engulfing the bug Pokémon in nothing but fire. Because of its type disadvantage, Beedrill suffers severe damage. The unconscious flying Pokémon is tossed on top of its ruthless trainer. It is unable to battle, much to Dennis's dismay. To make things even worst for him, when Beedrill lands on top of him, he drops the captured Pancham on the ground that breaks its cage wide open.

Once his cage has been broken, Pancham waste not one second and runs to his trainer. "Pancham!" The panda Pokémon screams in delight.

"Pancham!" Serena cries in delight. After searching all over the city for Pancham, her team is together once again. "I'm so happy to find you. Are you alright?"

"Pancham," he answers.

"What about you two?" Namaiki asks Plusle and Minun, in which the duo responds yes. Meanwhile, an angry Dennis returns his unable to battle Beedrill back in its poke ball. He did not came all this way just to have his plan foiled by a couple of spoiled little brats.

Serena recognizes this guy from the mugshot Officer Jenny showed her earlier ago. That hideous scar on the right side of his face gave away his identity. And he looks even more dangerous in person that he did in the mugshot.

"Dennis!"

"You know him?" Namaiki asks.

"No, but Officer Jenny told me he's a ruthless Pokémon hunter who escaped custody, and she and this Pokémon ranger have been trying to catch him."

"A Pokémon hunter? That explains he was eager to capture your Pancham."

"Officer Jenny mentioned he is very dangerous."

"And I'm also gonna capture your Pokémon," Dennis shouts. "You two will learn the meaning of respect. Rhydon, rock blast." Rhydon's horn begins to glow white as three light blue rings appear and spin around it. Each ring then glows the same color as the horn while continuing to spin around it. Once the rings change into rocks, Rhydon aims and fires at the five Pokémon across from it. But the girls are not about to give up. "Pancham, stone edge," Serena commands. Pancham is more than ready to battle. This way, he can get revenge on this hunter.

"PAAAANNCHAAAMM!" The panda Pokémon screams. He slams his hand on the ground, causing four glowing light blue pillars of rock appear so his friends can take cover from the rock blast.

"Now, Sylveon, use fairy wind."

Sylveon uses her feelers as leavage to leap on top of one of the stone edges. She bounces on the other three rocks, giving her a good air distance while avoiding the rock blast at the same time. She pulls her feelers together, and the air around them starts to glow light blue. The fairy type Pokémon spreads them wide open, sending a strong gust of wind at the Rhydon. The fairy wind ends up lifting Rhydon off the ground and into the air like a glittering twister. Rhydon is then thrown on his back, much to Namaiki's amazement.

 _Wow! She's really strong,_ the pink head thought to herself. The way this girl battles shows just how in sync she is with her own Pokémon.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" A furious Dennis screams at his own Pokémon. "GET UP AND FIGHT IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU!" In spite of being heavily injured, the drill Pokémon stands back on its two feet. But even that prove to be a challenge. "I will not lose to two kids. ROCK BLAST!"

Rhydon's horn begins to glow again as three rings spin around it. It isn't long until another series of rocks are thrown at the bunch. And this time, its Plusle and Minun's turn to even the playing field. "Get ready, you guys," Namaiki says to the duo. "Dodge it and finish this with electro ball."

Plusle and Minun run up to the rock blast attack. As soon as the move got closer enough, the both of them leaps on top of one of the rocks. They jump off only to land on another rock, then another rock, then another, and then another. They continue this paste before getting close enough at Rhydon.

"DO IT!" Their trainer encourages. Plusle and Minun hop off the rock once they got close enough at Rhydon, then proceeds to pulling their paws together. An orange-yellow orb of electricity with sparks of yellow electricity coming off the orb forms the moment they open their paws. Plusle jerks his body to the right and Minun jerks his body to the left, then at the same time, they both tosses the orbs directly at Rhydon. Leaving behind yellow electric sparks in the dust and smoke. Rhydon may have the type advantage as a ground and rock type, but the electro balls made direct contact, causing it to stumble backwards before falling on top of Dennis.

Plusle and Minun have to rub it in Dennis's face. After landing feet first on the ground, they start dancing and cheering with one another. They even take the bragging a step further by turning around and smacking their paws on their butts at the evil hunter. Speaking of which, Dennis returns Rhydon back in its poke ball. He's not gonna take his lost laying down. He's going to capture each one of those Pokémon one way or another. The male reaches in his pocket and takes out some kind handle and presses the red button, which exposes a platinum net.

"I'm GONNA CAPTURE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOUR POKEMON IF ITS THE LAST THING I DO!" Dennis cries. He proceeds to catch the Pokémon, starting with Plusle, Minun, And Pancham. The trio jumps from one direction to another, trying to avoid capture.

"Hey!" Namaiki screams in response. "You can't do that!"

"That's not right!" Serena voices in anger.

Out of nowhere, a layer of sticky white string binds Dennis up. He drops his net on the ground for both of his arms are tied to either side of his waist. As grateful as Serena and Namaiki are that Dennis is stopped from capturing their Pokémon, they wonder where that came from. And obviously, Dennis is asking the same question. He struggles to break free from his restraints, but with no success. Suddenly, a male with brown hair wearing some kind of uniform with a device on his right hand. A flying type Pokémon with multicolored wings lands on the top of his head. "You two okay?" He asks the girls.

"Umm...yeah," Namaiki answers. "Is that your Beautifly?"

"Why, yes it is."

"So that was a string shot."

"That's right. Officer Jenny, we found Dennis," he announces, talking to Officer Jenny from his Fine Styler. While he reports Dennis's capture, the hunter still refuses surrender. He growls as he hops over to the ranger.

"NO WAAAAYY!" He screams. "YOU THINK THIS IS OVER? I'M NOT GOING BACK TO JAIL! AND YOU BETTER BELIEVE I WI..." Beautifly spits its string shot at Dennis again and doesn't stop until he is completely wrap into a human sized cocoon.

"Nice work, Beautifly," the ranger chuckles.

"Beautifly."

* * *

"Serena, Namaiki, I'm happy to announce that all of your Pokémon are in perfect health." The two female trainers are more than excited to see all their Pokémon back to their original, healthy selves. That battle with Dennis had drained all their energy. Plusle and Minun jump on top of either one of Namaiki's shoulders. They rub their cheeks together with hers, but soft enough to avoid shocking her with a nuzzle. As for Serena, she pulls her three Pokémon into a group hug.

"How's your Pokémon doing?" Officer Jenny asks the two.

"Just fine," Serena answers. "Everyone is doing fine."

"Well that's good to hear. By the way, I'm Justice and obviously I'm a Pokemon Ranger."

"Hi. I'm Serena and I came all the way from the Kalos region with my Pokémon."

"Braixen Braixen."

"Pancham?"

"Eon."

"And I'm the lovely and beautiful Namaiki and this troublesome duo are my partners, Plusle and Minun."

"Well, Serena, Namaiki, The people of Mauville City likes to thank you for your assistance in apprehending Dennis, the Pokémon hunter."

"Its not a problem, Officer Jenny," Serena replies.

"Yes it was," Namaiki vocalizes. "That Dennis guy is such a jerk."

"Yes he is," Justice agrees. "You two are lucky I showed up the way I did, because he really is extremely dangerous, especially if someone defeats him in his own game."

"Not that I care, but what's gonna happen to him now?" Namaiki asks.

"Well, we have reasons to believed he's involve in a team of hunters that captures and sells Pokémon to evil organizations. So we're taking him back into custody and get him talking. Thanks again for all your help, Serena and Namaiki. Good luck on your journeys and stay safe." Officer Jenny and Justice walk out of the Pokémon Center to take Dennis back into custody. As relieved this was, Dennis's capture is still a bittersweet victory. At least not for Namaiki. Serena still have a few questions that need to be answer. First off, why did Dennis targeted her Pancham in the beginning? And what does he want him?

They may sound like obvious questions, but something is telling Serena there's more to this story than Justice and Officer Jenny are telling. "So, Kalos," Namaiki calls out.

"Huh?"

"Where are you heading now after this?"

Oh yeah. After everything that's happen today, Serena forgot to register for a Pokémon contest. But she still don't know anything about contests nor Hoenn. "Ummm...I'm not sure."

"Well, what's the reason you came all the way here?"

"To compete in contests, but I've never been in Hoenn. I don't even know where I should go."

"Well I'm heading to Littleroot Town. If you want, we can travel together for a while. We can both register for the first Pokémon contest."

"Huh? You compete in contests?"

"Uh-Huh." Wow. Her first day in Hoenn and already Serena met new Pokémon, clash against a Pokémon hunter, made a new friend, and rival all on the same day. What else is waiting for her in Hoenn? "So what will it be, Kalos?"

The honey headed rookie doesn't have much options. "Okay."

"Great. Now let's get going to the next town before it gets dark." With their Pokémon by their sides, Serena and Namaiki walk out the Pokémon Center and are heading off to the next town.

"Wait! Serena, you have a..." Nurse Joy calls out. But she is too late. The sliding glass doors close and the inside of the Pokémon Center is completely empty. "...package from Kalos."

* * *

 _ **This has to be the quickest summer vacation I ever had. I remember like it was just yesterday when I just got out of school, and now I'm less than three weeks away from starting classes again. Its gonna be my fifth semester as a college student. Just one more after this Fall and I'll finally receive my AA degree. Right now, I'm gonna hold off working on "Performing in Another Region" for a while only because I wanna take the time to piece together my others fanfics I have, along with future "PIAR" chapters, and typing on my Amazon tablet is getting on my last nerve. All this autocorrecting and using this small keyboard is driving me crazy. Also, I got some personal issues to work on.**_

 _ **And if you're confuse about some of the material on the chapter, don't worry. You will see more of Justice, Dennis, and a whole lot more. I just didn't want to expose much detail on one chapter. You'll have to wait and see what's in store for Serena and Namaiki. In the meantime, stay tuned everybody.**_

 _ **-MisterLooneyTune**_


	3. The Oldale Fashion Way

Performing in Another Region

 _ **Hey everybody. I know its been a while. Dealing with Hurricane Irma, classes, and other personal issues. But I'm not going to waste any of your time trying to explain it. Here is Chapter 3...finally... and despite my usual grammar and punctuations mistakes, I hope you would enjoy reading the new chapter and thanks for your patience, tuneheads.**_

Chapter 3: The Oldale Fashion Way

Serena doesn't understand how Namaiki can still be running. After the recent turn of events that occurred in the last few hours, she would have thought the crazy pink headed girl wanted to rest. But instead, she has been running and jumping throughout the trail to Littleroot Town. Not even an entire day in and Serena realizes Namaiki is a wild, energetic trainer just like her Plusle and Minun. Not to mention sassy as well.

Serena, on the other hand, is feeling the total opposite right now. While she is stumbling down the path to Littleroot Town, her entire body is on the verge of collapsing. Serena's short hair is all tangled up in her fedora, her feet hurt, and sweat is pouring off of her body as the afternoon sun is baring down on her. And after accidently having her Pancham switched for an empty poke ball, searching all over Mauville City for Namaiki, and dealing with that crazy Dennis guy, Serena is asking herself one question: how far away is Littleroot Town?

"Hurry up, Kalos," Namaiki yells down from the top of a hill at the short haired trainer. Plusle and Minun are standing on either side of her. "Or you're gonna get left behind."

Great. Now she has to climb up a hill too. When will she be able to sit down and rest? "How...far is the next town?" Serena asks in a weary voice.

"Get up here and see for yourself."

See for herself? She means this hill will lead to Littleroot Town? Hearing that, Serena uses her last bit of energy and catches up with Namaiki on top of the hill. Everything is downhill from here on out. Littleroot Town is a lot smaller than Mauville City. All the buildings are spaced out from one another and very small compared to the tall skyscrapers back at Mauville City. And each one of those properties contain their own piece of land. Speaking of buildings, Serena spots a warehouse looking building with an enormous letter 'P' sitting on top of the place and assumes that's the Pokémon Center.

"Littleroot Town is a lot smaller than I imagined," Serena comments.

"Littleroot Town? This is Oldale Town," Namaiki corrects her new traveling companion.

"Oldale Town? But I thought we were heading to Littleroot Town."

"We are, but Littleroot Town is across on the other side of Oldale Town," Namaiki confirms.

Serena looks up at the sky and see its starting to get dark. The moon is slowly appearing as the sun begins to disappear behind the clouds. Evening is only moments away and Serena didn't pack any camping gear. Looks like Littleroot Town will just have to wait another day or two. "There's no way we will reach Littleroot Town," the girl scowls Namaiki.

"Well obviously," the pink head scuffs. "We're gonna be spending the night in Oldale Town."

"Then why the rush?"

"Because this face, hair, and camping DO NOT go together. Come on before it gets dark." Namaiki walks down the trail as Plusle and Minun follow after their trainer. As for Serena, she breaths out in dismay. This girl is a piece of work. How can anyone deal with her? But at least Serena will get the chance to take a much needed shower and sleep comfortably in a nice, soft bed. With that in mind, she walks down the hill and heads straight for Oldale Town.

* * *

Serena and Namaiki walk inside the Pokemon Center and it is packed with other trainers. Some of the trainers are hanging with their Pokémon, others are still waiting for theirs from Nurse Joy, eating, or simply chatting with one another. Serena is amazed at the huge space. Sure its a big building, but the interior seems to be more bigger than the exterior. Not to mention this Pokémon Center has its own mini food bar, unlike the one in Mauville City. The honey haired trainer guess because that one is only a walking distance to the food court.

Both female trainers walk over to the front around the same time Nurse Joy and her partner Chansey appear from the back. Just like the one back at Mauville City, this Nurse Joy has pink hair while wearing a pink colored dress with a white nurse apron around her waist. Unlike Officer Jenny, it seems to Serena that all the Nurse Joys in Hoenn are a lot similar to the ones back in Kalos. With Officer Jenny, she can tell the difference in their outfits. As well as the tone in their voices.

"Welcome to the Oldale Town Pokémon Center," Nurse Joy greets the duo.

"Hey, Nurse Joy. We just arrive from Mauville City and we like a room for the night. You got any room available?" Namaiki asks.

"Well, there is one room available, but its pretty small. I don't know if its going to be enough space."

"It'll be fine, Nurse Joy. We have been walking all day and we are really tired." Oh now all of a sudden she's tired. Not too long ago, Namaiki was springing all the way to Oldale Town like a Spoink. But Serena's attention is focused on Nurse Joy. It maybe an obvious question, but she wonders is this the same Nurse Joy from Mauville City? And if so, how did she get here before the girls did? "Nurse Joy?" Serena calls out. "I was wondering how did you came all the way here from Mauville City without passing us?"

"Let me guess. You must be talking about my cousin," Nurse Joy replies.

"Your cousin?"

"Right," the nurse proceeds to take out a single picture. Both Serena and Namaiki examine the photo and of course, Nurse Joy and the rest of her family look identical.

"Well what do you know?" Namaiki comments.

"I should have known," Serena adds.

"Wait a second. Did you two said arrive from Mauville City?"

"Yeah?" The trainers answers.

"Then one of you must be Serena?"

"I'm Serena. What is it, Nurse Joy?" The medical professional takes out a large brown box with a green label on top from underneath the counter and places it on top.

"Youve got a package all the way from Kalos earlier today," Nurse Joy answers. "But you left in such a hurry, you didn't even noticed." Serena finds her name on the label, implying this package is in fact for her and it came all the way from Kalos. She is curious to figure out what's inside. Not wanting to wait any longer, the Kalos native opens the package up. Inside reveals a beautiful dress with two separate layers of pink, a straw hat tied by a light pink hatband, and a pair of pink Mary Jane shoes at the very bottom.

"What a beautiful dress," Serena comments.

"It is," Namaiki complements. "Whoever send you this outfit went crazy on the pink, or is it your favorite color?"

Ignoring Namaiki's question, Serena comes to a conclusion to who send the dress to her. Of course, the package has to come from her own mother. And she didn't need to read the back of the note to confirm this. But since its already late, maybe it would be best to wait in the morning. She is exhausted and its been a long day. And all Serena cares about right about is getting some sleep.

"Yo, Kalos," Namaiki snaps. "Didn't you hear my question? Who sent you the dress?"

"My Mom," Serena a swers. "I better call her and say thanks." With Serena going to call her Mom, an idea pops up in Namaiki's head. She pulls out her phone and scrolls down her contacts until the name 'Cameron' pops up along with a ten digit number. She presses the name and holds the ohone to her ear. The line rings a few seconds until she hears a male's voice.

"Hey, Cameron. Yeah, its me. I don't care what you were doing. Listen, I know its late, but can you swing over to Professor Birch's lab? I need you to do something for me."

* * *

Nurse Joy wasn't kidding when she said this room is very little on space. Serena would have hope to sleep in the same bed with her Pokémon since this is their first night in Hoenn. And what better way to end the first day than with the team that help her get this far in her journey? But the room only has one full size bed that is only wide enough for two people and with little walking space for Serena to place her package near the left side of the bed. Even Plusle and Minun have to sleep in their poke balls for the night. This room is more like a janitor's closet.

The door opens and walks inside Namaiki. After changing out of her daily clothes, she is now wearing a amethyst colored shirt and a pair of violet pajamas shorts that matches the color of her sleeves. The young lady walks over to the night stand and grabs a rubberband. She proceeds to place her right hand inside the hole before reaching for the back of her hair while grabbing a fist full of it with her left hand. "Purple must be your favorite color," Serena wonders.

"You can say that," Namaiki responds with her pink hair now in one ponytail. She scans the honey headed girl's pajamas. She is wearing a lavendar hoodie that has pink heart insignias near the hips along with dark pink shorts and a red bow tied on the front of her head. There is no doubt pink has to be this girl's favorite color. "So what do you think, Kalos?" She asks.

"It looks...really good on you," Serena awkwardly answers. Not sure how to comment on her night clothes.

"I know it looks good on me, but I'm asking how do you like Hoenn so far?"

"The first days are never easy to describe, but I like Hoenn so far." Serena tugs on the sheets from her side of the bed and hops right in. Namaiki follows her and jumps into her side of the bed. How the both of them wish they had their own individual beds, or a bigger room one. "So how long have you been performing in contests?"

"For quite a while now," Namaiki answers. "I actually got back from a previous journey in Sinnoh. That was only a week ago."

"Really? How was it?"

"Awesome. I even made it to the finals in the Grand Festival. And I was so close to becoming Top Coordinator."

"Wow. What happen?"

Namaiki didn't respond right away. She takes in a small breath of air and exhales, staring high to the ceiling as her energetic smile fades away. "I placed runner up. But what bothers is that was so close to winning the whole thing too. I had never gotten that far in all my days as a coordinator. I really don't wanna talk about it." The tone in Namaiki's voice is a mixture of disappointment, frustration, and defeat. Serena nods at her rival's request because she witness that type of feeling before and even experienced it herself. There is a moment where you are at the final stage of making your dreams come true. Excitement running through your body like a relay race. But before you realize it, all it takes is just a few minutes to have that excitement stolen from you. Nevertheless, that same kind of feeling will also brings out the desire to become stronger and the determination for redemption. "What about you?" Namaiki asks.

"Huh?" Serena turns her head to see the pink headed trainer laying right next to her.

"What brings you here?"

"Same reason that brought you here: working to become stronger to achieve my goal." Namaiki feels a lot better and comfortable knowing she has somebody to talk to about losing. Especially if that someone can relate to your pain and disappointment. But Namaiki feels like they're still more she wants to know about this girl. And [Namaiki] has the solution. "Hey, Serena," Namaiki calls out. That has to be the first time she called the Kalos native's name other than Kalos. "Since you're new here, why don't I show you this bakery store in town?"

"A bakery?"

"Yeah. The bakers who work there makes the tastiest cookies, pastries, bread, cakes, and pies ever in Hoenn. All it takes is one bite and it will be like fallen in love. We can check it out tomorrow before we leave for Littleroot Town."

"Yeah. That sounds like fun."

"Well, I'm sleepy. Let's get some sleep," Namaiki reaches over to her right and turns off the lamp. The entire room is completely dark with the only source of light coming from the full moon that shines its bluish white light over Oldale Town. "Night, Kalos."

"Night."

* * *

Namaiki can't remember the last time she slept rough like last night. In addition to the room being so small, the bed felt more like a chiropractor's dream than a trainer camping outside surrounded by an entire forest of wild Pokémon. And now, she woke up this morning with an awful pain in her neck. It hurts every time the girl turns her head, especially while putting on her sleeveless top on. Perhaps Namaiki should have took camping into consideration last night.

The young girl puts on her yellow boots then stands up. She posts in front of the mirror to examine how stylish she looks as always. "So what do you two think?" Namaiki asks her partners. She turns her head only to find Plusle and Minun sound asleep. "Never mind," the trainer grunts in frustration.

"TA-DA!" Namaiki turns her head and finds Serena standing behind her. This time in the two tone pink dress and matching pink Mary Jane shoes she received in that package last night. Serena is also wearing the same blue ribbon from yesterday while she is carrying her straw hat in her hands. "Sorry I took so long," the bobhead girl says as she spins around one time and places the straw hat over her head. "Well, what do you think?"

Braixen, Pancham, and Sylveon are all out of their poke balls. They present Serena's new wardrobe to Namaiki and her Plusle and Minun.

"Braixen!"

"Pancham!"

"Sylveon!"

"I'm still convince pink is your favorite color," Namaiki responds.

"Is that all you have to say to me?" Serena scolds.

"Take a joke, Kalos. But it looks really good on you. Now come on. I'm dying to get my hands on some cheesecake."

* * *

While walking downtown with Namaiki to the bakery, Serena is looking around Oldale Town. The small town is nothing compared to Mauville City by a landslide. speaking of land, there appears to be more land in Oldale Town than buildings. With each of its buildings spaced out from each other and standing on at least one acre. Although this is clarify as the heart of Oldale Town. Serena doesn't see many businesses anywhere outside of the local Pokémon Center. Nothing but grass, trees, and empty land that can cover miles and miles throughout the entire region. Not to mention the population. It will take ten times the amount of people in Oldale Town to fill out an entire major city like Mauville City.

Nevertheless, Serena does admire the fact how Oldale Town is very peaceful and quiet despite the rough sleep she endured last night. At least it gave her a chance to calm down, gather her thoughts, and have her mind adjusted to a whole new region. With all this land Oldale Town has to offer, location is not an issue. A family can practically build a house on just one acre and still have plenty of space around them to host parties, hang out, and for kids to run around and play with wild Pokémon. "We're here," Namaiki announces. "This is the spot."

The short headed female looks through the window of a small factory-like building and admires the products through the glass. Serena glares at the dozen shelves before her with each shelf displaying different layers of cakes, pies, bread, cupcakes, and brownies. Every product on display contains a topping and layers of delicious frosting; the whole pies and cakes have frostings that highlights a killer design. The short headed girl stares at the pastries in awe. Just gazing at them makes Serena's mouth water and her crystal blue eyes glimmer. "They all look so lovely," she comments. "But how am I supposed to choose which one I want?"

Namaiki chuckles at Serena's facial expression. "Don't worry about that, Kalos. I got this," the Hoenn native insists.

A female baker with short, blue hair wearing two disposable gloves and a pink apron that is covered in frosting walks up to the display in the window. She pulls out the fourth shelf from the bottom and takes out two cupcakes. One of them is chocolate topped with chocolate frosting and multicolor sprinkles while the other is vanilla with raspberry buttercream icing and a raspberry on top. The blue headed baker places the cupcakes inside of a white box and ties a light pink bow around it.

Once Serena and Namaiki walk inside the bakery, the sound of a doorbell rings the interior to signal the workers they have new customers. The walls of the interior are a caramel brown paint with an exception of the only wall behind the counter. That wall is painted with an emerald green with posters promoting a certain product or sales. A male trainer with messy brown hair is standing near the counter carrying some kind of wolf-like Pokémon with gray fur on his arms. The blue headed baker hands him the white box with the cupcakes inside.

"Here you are, sir," she announces. "One chocolate cupcake with sprinkles and one vanilla cupcake with raspberry icing just how you wanted."

"Thank you so much," the trainer thanks. "Come on, Poochyena. Let's go somewhere and enjoy these cupcakes." Poochyena barks in agreement as his trainer runs out of the store with the box in hand. Serena and Namaiki walk up to the counter.

"Namaiki," the baker calls out. "Good to see you again. What brings you by?"

"Hey, Trina," Namaiki says. "I would like for you to meet new friend, Serena. She came all the way from Kalos and I'm showing her around."

"I see. I assume you want the usual?"

"You know it. But this time, I'll take a whole cheesecake."

"Coming right up." Trina didn't need to write anything down. Namaiki is a regular customer, so the female baker already knows what she wants. She walks through the back of the bakery to the kitchen.

It takes Namaiki thirty seconds before she realizes there are no other customers behind them or waiting for their order. Silence fills the rest of the remaining spaces of the interior. They are all alone. This is the perfect opportunity for the pink head to find out more information about Serena. Namaiki was impressed by the way she battled with her Pokémon yesterday. However, she's not the only one who has some questions to ask.

"Hey, Namaiki," Serena calls out. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Huh? What is it?"

"What makes you wanna travel with me and show me around Hoenn?"

Namaiki turns to her traveling companion as a smile sneaks on her face. "When we was facing off against that Dennis guy, you impressed me by the way you battled along side your Pokémon. The four of you make one hell of a team."

Serena giggles as she reflects the smile right back at the long hair trainer. "Thanks, Namaiki. I've always have faith in my Pokémon and they have faith in me too, whether we perform onstage or offstage. Our bond is unbreakable."

"So how are the contests out there in Kalos?"

"Contests? Oh yeah. That's right."

"That's what?" Namaiki wonders.

"Actually, the contests in Kalos are a lot different than the ones down here. Instead of contests, we have showcases."

"Showcases? What are those?" While waiting for their cheesecake, Serena decides to fill Namaiki's head with everything there needs to know about Pokémon Showcases. First off, Serena informs Namaiki that showcases are only held in the Kalos region and that all participants must be female. Performers competing in a showcase must first go past the Theme Performance where she will compete with two other performers with their Pokémon. Each team will take on a task assigned to that particular showcase and it can be arranged through anything from styling, baking, using props, answering questions, or an activity that involve wild Pokémon. However, only one performer will advance to the the final stage which is called the Freestyle Performance.

Serena declares the Freestyle Performance as her favorite stage. She details that it is when performers perform a choreographed routine that exhibits the bond she has with her Pokémon. Performers can use a maximum of six Pokémon in a showcase. After the fifth or six performance, the audience in the venue then use their glowcasters to vote for their favorite performer. "...and the performer with the most votes wins the showcase and is awarded with a Princess Key," Serena finishes, pulling out the three Princess Keys she won back in Kalos.

Namaiki's eyes light up at the sight of the keys jiggling in front of her face. "They're so pretty," she comments. "So a performer have to collect three Princess Keys?"

"MmHmm," Serena confirms. "Then you can compete in the Master Class."

"And if I have to guess, this Master Class is the Kalos version to the Grand Festival," Namaiki replies.

"Grand Festival?"

"Yeah. The same way you performers over at Kalos have to achieve three Princess Keys, down here, coordinators must achieve five ribbons by competing in contests. Once you have all five ribbons, then you can compete in the Grand Festival. There, coordinators from across the region come together to win the Ribbon Cup and become Top Coordinator." Serena's eyes start to sparkle again while her face burn into a scarlet red color. Not out of embarrassment, but her cheeks are red out of determination and excitement. This is exactly why the performer came down here in the first place. She wants to compete in contests, meet new rivals, but more importantly to grow into a much strong performer with her Pokémon. Of course, Serena still has dreams of becoming Kalos Queen back home. But she lacks much experience and Pokémon Contests can just be the allay she needs.

But the journey ahead of the rookie coordinator is going to be a challenge. She will have to face off and defeat an army of rivals all with the same goal and one of those rivals happens to be standing right in front of her. An idea suddenly clicks in [Serena's] head.

"Namaiki?" Serena calls out.

"Hmm?"

"Let's have a battle."

"A battle?"

"Yeah. I figure it would be a matter of time since we'll be competing on the same stage someday. So what do you say, Namaiki? You and me. One on one. Right now."

Namaiki stands there wide eying honey haired trainer. Never in [Namaiki's] life has she met a trainer with such fierce ambition. The long haired coordinator doesn't need any further convincing. Besides, a battle is a good way to pass the time while they are waiting for their cheesecake. Personally, she loves this kind of fire Serena seems to discharge. This the same kind of energy she witnessed yesterday. "You got yourself a battle, Kalos."

* * *

With all this land surrounding them, it wasn't challenging for the girls to find a decent amount of space between them. Serena positions herself with side of the bakery behind her as her Braixen, Pancham, and Sylveon stand beside her. Namaiki stands further away from the bakery and with her Plusle and Minun beside her. And with downtown Oldale Town almost vacant, there is no worry about distractions. With over thirty feet of land stretch out between them, it is time for both coordinators to call out their Pokémon.

"This match will be a preview to our battle on stage," Namaiki announces. "So don't think I will be going easy on you, Kalos."

"I don't have the tendency to go easy, either," Serena fires back.

"Pancham Pan!" Her Panda Pokémon steps out in front of her since it is obvious Pancham wants to battle, but Serena has other plans.

"Oh. Sorry, Pancham, but I want Sylveon to battle." Serena's decision in having Sylveon battle will be a perfect opportunity to discover more of her potential. Sylveon actually evolved from an Eevee in the middle of tag battle back in Kalos. Besides, this battle is just what Serena and her team needs. To grow more and become stronger as a team in a new region, surrounded by new Pokémon, and facing off against new rivals. Serena may receive new ideas for contests.

"Pancham!" A disappointed Pancham walks off the field.

"Bra Braixen," Braixen comforts Pancham.

"Now then. Sylveon, I choose you," Serena commands, as she points her direction towards the battlefield. Namaiki promised not to hold back and neither is Serena. They maybe friends, but they are rivals too.

"Eon," the intertwining Pokémon shouts as she jumps onto the field. A smirk creeps up on Namaiki's face again.

"I was hoping you would choose Sylveon," she says. Serena overhears her opponent and wonders what does she means by that. The long haired coordinator reaches for a poke ball behind her back. Wait a minute, she's not going to use Plusle and Minun? "Now then, Vaporeon, let's go."

A distinctive sound effect rings is created by the sound of the tossed poke ball that opens up. A bright white light flashes before being replace by a light blue Pokémon with four legs and a white ruff around its neck standing in front of Namaiki. It stands tall on its side of the field with these cream-yellowish ears-like fins and blue ridges that run down the length from it's spine to it's tail-fin, resembling that of a mermaid. Despite knowing all of Eevee's many evolve forms, Serena has never seen anyone of them other than Sylveon. Or at least not knowing someone who caught one other than a Sylveon. "So that's a Vaporeon," she says. "Wait a minute. Namaiki, you had a Vaporeon this whole time and didn't tell me?"

"Oh, did I forgot to mention that?" Namaiki teases, sticking her tongue out at the performer. "The first move is all yours."

"Alright. Sylveon, use fairy wind," Serena commands.

"Sylveon," the fairy Pokémon shouts. Sylveon pulls her feelers together and the air around them starts to flow light blue. Sylveon then spreads her feelers wide open, sending a strong gust of wind at Vaporeon. But the water Pokémon doesn't seem to be moving. Vaporeon sees the attack coming, and yet it just stands there motionless. Not to mention, Namaiki is not giving it a command...until now.

"Vaporeon, use hydro pump," the trainer commands. Vaporeon releases powerful jet of water from its mouth at its opponent. The hydro pump attack breaks through the fairy wind like nothing and aims directly at Sylveon.

"Sylveon, dodge it," Serena commands.

"SYL?" The intertwining Pokémon fails to dodge the attack in time. As a result, she is soaked by the hydro pump.

"Are you okay, Sylveon?" Serena asks Sylveon who is shaking the water off of her body. This gives Namaiki an opening to attack while Sylveon is distracted.

"Okay, Vaporeon. Use tail whip." Vaporeon begins to wag its tail back and forth at its opponent's face before wagging it one last time, but with more aggression that the previous assaults to the point Sylveon falls backwards. "Awesome," Namaiki remarks. "Keep the speed going and use tackle." Vaporeon springs towards Sylveon and tackles her, sending her back over to Serena.

"OH NO! SYLVEON!" Serena voices her deep concern.

"Sylve...on." It is obvious Sylveon can't keep up with Vaporeon's speed and she is wounded badly. She can't even stand up without limping everywhere. Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Namaiki is absorbing the upper hand she receive. "You see, Kalos?" The coordinator shouts. "When it comes to speed, other than Plusle and Minun, My Vaporeon is unbeatable."

Speaking of Plusle and Minun, they will always root for Team Namaiki. Everytime Vaporeon would gain the upper hand, the both of them would leap into the air and then rotate their bodies in the opposite direction before landing back on their feet. Orbs of yellow or light blue electricity would form around Plusle or Minun's hands. After which, they would jump on one foot to the other as they shake the electric orbs like pompoms. Sometimes they even throw them in the air and replace them with another pair of electric orbs.

 _Wow. Namaiki is a lot stronger than I thought_ Serena thinks to herself. The Kalos native is surprised, and at the same time not totally surprised, by the way Namaiki battles. Serena did remembered Namaiki saying she had traveled other regions competing in Pokémon Contests. However, she is talking about the same girl who wouldn't camp outside if it means getting her hair messed up. Not even if you pay her a million dollars. Then again, Serena can't expect nothing less from a coordinator. If she's going to perform in contests, then she must face strong rivals like Namaiki. After all, this battle acts like a review on what both girls can. Expect from one another when they compete on that stage. "Sylveon, you can still battle, can't you?"

Sylveon slowly picks herself up. She maybe injured, but this battle has just begun. "Eon," the intertwining Pokémon nods. Serena smiles at this. Namaiki is strong without a doubt and her Vaporeon is raised and trained well. But Serena is strong as well and her Pokémon is equally as raised and trained too.

"Alright. Use swift."

Sylveon leaps into the air as yellowish gold stars appears out of nowhere and surrounds her body. She throws her feelers downward, firing the gold stars at her water type opponent. But its going to take a lot more than that to go up against Vaporeon's incredible speed.

"Use tail whip," Namaiki commands. Vaporeon's tail destroys the swift attack one star at a time. This results in sparkling gold dust to fill the air. As amazing and beautiful that counter attack was, it didn't help Serena and Sylveon.

"Come on, Kalos. Show me how a performer supposed to battle," Namaiki taunts. "Now use hydro pump."

The bubble jet Pokémon shoots another layer of water at its opponent.

"Protect."

"Eon," Sylveon shouts. A round turquoise colored shield displays in front of Sylveon and just in a nik of time too. The hydro pump misses the Pokémon with the feelers and shoots into five directions as it reflects off the protect. But this battle can't continue proceeding like this. Namaiki has already proven herself to be a tough rival, but if Serena is going to win this match, then [Serena] needs to make a move.

It appears Namaiki is more focused on her offense. Serena can tell by the way Vaporeon continues to use hydro pump. Perhaps she can use that to her advantage and turn this battle around in her favor.

"Keep using hydro pump," Namaiki encourages her water type Pokémon. "Sylveon can't hold onto that protect for long." And apparently, Vaporeon can't hold onto that hydro pump for long either. The long haired trainer fails to notice the pressure level from the hydro pump is going down as well as her Pokémon getting tired. Namaiki continues to encourage Vaporeon, but the water attack slowly fades down. Now this gives Serena an opening to counter attack.

"Sylveon, swift again," she commands.

"Eon." Sylveon leaps back into the air and sends another round of gold stars at the weary Pokémon.

"Vaporeon, tail whip," Namaiki commands. But the water Pokémon is too exhausted to even move. Using that hydro pump for an extended period of time drain most of it's energy. So Vaporeon is in the middle of catching its breath. By the time Vaporeon looks up, it is hit with a round of the swift attack.

"Yes, now use...Sylveon?"

"SYYLLLLVVEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNN!"

All of a sudden, Sylveon leaps into the air once more. But this time, she spreads her feelers wide open at the same time a moon appears behind her. She opens her mouth and forms an orb of bright pink energy. With her eyes lock on her target, Sylveon fires the pink energy at the opponent.

The orb grows closer and closer every time the Pokémon blinks. Vaporeon doesn't have enough time to dodge considering how fast the orb is going. In addition to being too weak and exhausted to counter attack now. Breathing is askew, limps are insensible, and sweat is streaming from its skin; that says a lot from a water type Pokémon. With no other options left, all Vaporeon can do right now is brace for impact. The pink energy ball makes a direct hit and surrounds its victim in dark gray smoke. The smoke clears to reveal Vaporeon laying unconscious on the floor in a bracket position.

The battle is finally over and Sylveon is the winner. Her limbs collapse and the intertwining Pokémon falls face down onto the ground, proud of herself on a job well done, and unaware of the sound of footsteps growing louder behind her. The footsteps are follow by a pair of hands wrapping around Sylveon's head. "Sylveon, that was amazing," Serena congratulates her Pokémon.

"Braixen Braix!" The fox Pokémon compliments.

"Pan Pancham!" The panda Pokémon adds.

"Eon Eon," Sylveon weakly responds.

"What was that new move you just learned?"

"Its called moon blast," Namaiki answers, walking up to Serena along with her Vaporeon. "Its a fairy type move that can not only does damage, but lower a Pokémon's attack."

"Incredible. I've seen another trainer's Sylveon use moon blast, but I had no idea it had such power."

"You should consider using that move in contests." Namaiki does have a point. Now that Sylveon learned to use moon blast, this will give Serena plenty of ideas to use in contests. The possibilities are endless. "We finished our battle just in time. Look over there."

Both girls turn to see Trina walking towards them carrying a large box with several paper plates, napkins, a cake knife, folks, and a can of whipped cream on top of it. "Here you go, ladies," the baker announces. "A large cherry chocolate cheesecake with cherry toppings."

The girls open the box and the moment they have been waiting for has finally arrive. Inside the box is a georgous square chocolate cheesecake with cherries covered in cherry sauce.

"It looks so good," Serena comments.

"Wait until you see what really lies inside it," Namaiki scuffs. She takes the cake knife and cuts a piece from the bottom left corner that reveals two cherries stuff inside the buttercream cake. She takes the can of whipped cream and sprays a good amount on top of the sliced cake. Since Serena won their battle, it is only right for Namaiki to offer [Serena] the first slice. "This one is for you."

Serena cuts off a medium size piece with a plastic folk and pops it in her mouth. Her cheeks instantly turn as red as those cherries on the cake. Namaiki wasn't kidding about this bakery. The piece of cheesecake melts in her mouth and sinks in her taste bud. "So amazing," Serena complements.

"Didn't I tell you?" Namaiki cuts her Pokémon a slice as well as Braixen, Pancham, and Sylveon, and finally herself a slice.

"Everyone enjoying the cake?"

"Braixen."

"Pancham."

"Sylveon, you deserve another slice for winning the battle. You like it?"

"Eon," Sylveon confirms.

"How about you, Vaporeon?" Namaiki asks her water type.

"Vaporeon," Vaporeon smiles and confirms. Plusle and Minun are also enjoying the cake. In fact, they're enjoying it so much that Minun ends up choking on a small piece. Plusle notices this and rushes to his partner's aid. The plus Pokémon wraps his arms around Minun's stomach and thrusts his body upward until the piece of cherry is dislodge from Minun. "Do you two always have to turn something into a head-to-head competition?" Namaiki asks.

Serena chuckles at the funny duo. Namaiki sure has her hands full dealing with Plusle and Minun. "So after this, its Littleroot Town?"

"That's right. And just a quick reminder, Kalos, this battle is just a preview. Our real battle will begin once we compete on that stage."

"Oh, I haven't forgotten."

"Good, cause I'm not holding back one inch. So get ready, Kalos, because this is only the beginning."

"I'm not holding back either. So bring it on, Namaiki."

 _ **I wanna thank XDiamondX90, AmourshippingCanon, Epicocity, and Potat Iasaro for helping me out with this chapter and giving me some advice on how I can improve my writing. I might change the ending of this chapter. Despite my usual grammar and punctuation mistakes, I think I handled Serena and Namaiki quite well here.**_

 _ **Anyway, "Performing in Another Region" is in full swing and Im just getting started. Serena has made her first friend and rival already, but there's still a lot more to come. What other excitement and mysteries wait for Serena and Namaiki? Stay tuned. This fanfic is just getting started.**_

 _ **-MisterLooneyTune**_


	4. Looney's News

_**Looney News:**_

 _ **To all my tuneheads,**_

 _ **There won't be any new updates until 2018 and that includes "Performing in Another Region." I cannot stand writing all my fanfics on my Amazon tablet anymore, but other than that, I'm stress with the current status in my personal life. I'm ending my fifth semester in college and finals are around the corner once I get off Thanksgiving break, so I can't focus on both exams and my fanfics at the same time. Not to mention I'm already preparing myself for my sixth and final semester in community college. I'm so close to finally graduating and obtaining an associate of arts degree. After which, I'm planning on enrolling in a university to work on a bachelor of arts degree.**_

 _ **While I'm away for the remainder of 2017, I will be working on ideas for future chapters and new fanfics I have already planned. For instance, I'm putting together my first trilogy called "And To Our Own Way" and it will serve as the relaunch to my amourshipping lemon fanfic, "Feelings." As popular as the fanfic was, I will the first to admit that I made some terrible mistakes on the fanfic concerning grammar, tense, punctuation, and the overall storyline. So the trilogy will start the amourshipping lemon project all over from scratch. If you follow me on Twitter, then I've already informed you about my trilogy.**_

 _ **Part 1 is going to be called "A Kalos Reunion" and takes place six years after the final XY episode. Ash will travel back to Kalos and reunites with all of his friends including Serena. During the first part, Ash will learn the true meaning of love when he discovers his feelings for Serena. And Serena still have feelings for Ash, but after spending six years distant from him, she struggles to determine whether or not her growing crush on him is love. I've already finished planning Kalos Reunion, but I'm going back over and change some ideas around. First two chapters will be released either around late January or early February in the new year.**_

 _ **I'm still working on my Serena fanfic, "Performing in Another Region." I already have three chapters out and piecing together the next seven chapters right now as we speak. I'll be highlighting Serena and Namaiki's Hoenn journey still with the former attempting to capture her first Hoenn Pokémon, meeting with Professor Birch, both girls welcoming two male companions name - Cameron and Anthony - to travel with them, and finally both female coordinators competing in their first Pokémon Contest. All within those seven chapters. After that, I'm putting the fanfic on a hiatus so I can take the time to develop more chapters.**_

 _ **Finally, the last Pokémon fanfic I'll be working on is called "The Kalos Generation." I cancelled the first one because I wanted to go back and start over, make some changes to the tense. Everything will remain the same concerning Bonnie, Matthew, Professor Sycamore, John and Ashley, and the two twins that will assist Bonnie and Matthew on their Kalos journey. The fanfic will have to wait for a release until March.**_

 _ **I do apologize for all the delays and all my mistakes, but hopefully at the beginning of next year things will get better and it won't take me forever to published a new chapter. Happy holidays tuneheads and happy new year. See you guys in 2018.**_

 _ **Stay Tuned**_.


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